Title: Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1)

Author: Susan Dennard

Publisher: HarperTeen 2013

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project

Sixteen-year-old Eleanor Fitt’s brother is missing. And when she discovers that the Dead are rising in Philadelphia and wreaking havoc throughout the city, she knows that her brother is involved.

So Eleanor enlists the help of the Spirit-Hunters. This motley crew, hired to protect the city from supernatural forces, is after the necromancer who has been reanimating corpses. Their skills can save her brother. But as Eleanor spends time with the Spirit-Hunters, and their handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. Now not only is her reputation at risk, but her very life may hang in the balance.

This volume has been sitting on my shelves for a few years now. Of course I had to read it during Spooky Book Month to stay on theme. The first few chapters were a bit confusing as we don’t get the backstory of the Dead or the current state of the world. Once I settled in and started following Eleanor’s storyline, I slowly got a handle on the world and began enjoying myself. This is a typical YA adventure fantasy full of slightly whiny characters and some predictable light romance. I really got into the story once we meet the Spirit Hunters and the mystery starts unraveling. From there, I sped through the rest of the book. This volume ends on a bit of a cliffhanger but the main mystery is concluded before the end page. I imagine that I will finish this series, but probably not right away.

Title: A Dawn Most Wicked (Something Strange and Deadly #0.5)

Author: Susan Dennard

Publisher: HarperTeen 2013

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 150

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Daniel Sheridan is an engineer’s apprentice on a haunted Mississippi steamer known as the Sadie Queen. His best friend–the apprentice pilot, Cassidy Cochran–also happens to be the girl he’s pining for … and the captain’s daughter. But when it looks like the Sadie Queen might get taken off the river, Daniel and Cassidy have to do whatever they can to stop the ghosts that plague the ship.

Fortunately, there happens to be a Creole gentleman on board by the name of Joseph Boyer–and he just might be able to help them …

My paperback copy of the first book in the series included this prequel novella at the end. I didn’t realize that Daniel had a big backstory, but I did enjoy following him during his first encounter with Joseph and Jie. the ghost scenes are truly creepy and I definitely want more from that angle in the next book.

Something Strange and Deadly

• #0.5 A Dawn Most Wicked

• #1 Something Strange and Deadly

• #2 A Darkness Strange and Lovely

• #3 Strange and Ever After

Next up on the TBR pile: